Brush-cleaner for carpet-sweepers



H. L. DAVIS.

BRUSH CLEANER FOR CARPET SWEEPERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I. 1918- Patented June 21, 1921.

5'14 uamtoz I Gbbozneyd warren stares HELEN L. DAVIS, 0F ARLINGTON, NEWJERSEY.

BRUSE-LCLEANEB CAJRIPET-SXVEEPERS Specification of Letters Patent.Patgntged June 21, 11921.

application filed May 1, 1918. Serial No. 231,913.

To aZZ w homet may concern:

Be it known that 1, Hanan L. Dnvrs, a oiti- This invention. relates totools for clean ing brushes and particularly to tools designed forcleaning the brushes of carpet sweepers and vacuum cleaners of that typein which a rotary brush is used adjacent the dirt receiving slot in thehead of the sweeper or cleaner easing.

It is usual in these devices to arrange a rotating brush adjacent arelatively narrow slot, so that the bristles, protruding through theslot, will come in contact with the surface to be cleaned and sweep andsuck the dirt back into the casing. Owing to the fact that the body ofthe brush is housed within the casing and the bristles only pro trudethrough the slot, it is ditlicult to properly clean these bristles anddisengage the lint and other particles which become en tangled therein.

It is the purpose of my invention to pro vide a simple, cheaplyconstructed tool by means of which a brush of this character may bereadily cleaned without opening the boX or casing in which it is mountedor taking down the device so as to expose the entire brush.

In order that the invention. may be clear to those skilled in the art, Ihave shown in the drawings herewith, one embodiment of my invention, butit will be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and is inFig. 8 is a view in bottom plan of the toolshown in Fig. 1.

Fig. i is an end view to show of the tool. 7

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a slightly diiierentconstruction.

the prongs Referring to the drawings by numerals,

like numbers indicating. like parts in the several views, 10 indicatesthe handle of the tool, which may be formed in any convenient manner,the. particular form shown being an open handle formed of a singlePATENT OFFICE.

piece of heavy wire shaped into a loop to give a proper handle portion,with the ends of the wire twisted together to form the shank 11, andbeing then inclined upwardly and outwardly as at 12, with their extremeouter ends spread and turned to form the hooks 13. The hooks 13 asshown, are turned downwardly and rearwardly so as to give a'pair oihooks which are turned under and rearwardly to give hooked lingers toengage and retain threads and waste which may be entangled in thebristles oi the brush. Preferably a third hook having an inner end 14,will. be provided between the two outer hooks so as to give athree-pronged tool, and the shank of the third or middle hook willpreferably be intertwined in the manufacture of the tool with thetwisted sections of the wires which form the shank 11, so as to lock itinplace, and, additionally, to thicken and stiflen the shank,

It is desirable, not only that a tool of this character shalleffectively remove the waste, but also that it be so constructed as toretain and hold that waste until removed, and not merely rake it out ofthe brush upon the floor. The shape of the hooks 13, and the receivingrecess formed thereby, is such that they rake the waste from thebristles and it packs in the throat of the hooks so as to be retaineduntil removed therefrom by the operator.

The reduced shank 11 will, of course, permit the use of the tool in anarrow slot, for the fingers or prongs 13 may be hooked into a slot toonarrow to receive them otherwise, the tool turned to combing positionrelative to the brush, and the shank will then readily traverse the slotand permit the tool to be manipulated.

In the form of the invention shown in 2 V V g 1,381,973

Fig. 5, the central hook 15 made longer than the outer hooks so as toproject below and rea'rwardly of these outer hooks and give a deepercleaning action centrally oi" will then be engaged with the bristles anddrawn longitudinally of the brush, the brush being rotated as successiveportions are cleaned to bring the uncleaned portions opposite the slotand within access of the tool By sweeping the tool across the brushlongitudinally, the underturned hooks will engage and drag out the lintand other terial which has become entangled with the brush, thedownwardly turned position of the hooks permitting them to be drivendeeply into the bristles so as to clean them from the brush periphery tothe core of the brush, and the rearwardly turneo. position of the hooksinsuring the retention of the lint and other matter combed from thebristles. The hooks, when tilled withdirt and lint may, of course, bereadily cleaned, the open or spread limbs of the hook portion readilypermitting the waste to be removed.

Theform shown in Fig. 5 is a convenient type, for the reason thatthelonger central hook will drive deeply into andbetween the bristles andtake the waste from the bottom or baseof the bristles, the two outerhooks my hand;

cleaning the bristles proper, and where the bristles are set in rows thecentral long tooth or hook may drop so as to ride along the body of thecore and scrape the material or waste from between the brush rows, thetwo outer hooks cleaning the bristles themselves. It will be observedthat by forming the shank 11 as shown of the intertwisted strands, avery rigid shank portion is given and one which will not bend or breakin use, so that a very efficient and lasting construction is secured.

It will be understood that such slight changes in'construction as amountonly to mechanical skill may be made without departing from the spiritof my invention.

What I claim is:

A brush cleaner for use in connection with handle portion, and portionsadjacent its ends twistedtogether to provide a shank,

its free ends terminating in a pair of hook-.

shaped prongs, a second piece of wire intertwined with such twistedportions with its outer end terminating in a hook portion between thetwo first mentioned hooks, said hooks having shanks extending upwardandforward, and end portionsextending in a rearward and downward directionso as to form collecting and retaining recesses for waste. a r V Intestimony whereof I have hereunto set HELEN nDAvIs.

